Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: When massive stars explode they create large radioactive blast clouds which expand into interstellar space. As the radioactive elements decay, they produce gamma-rays. Possible locations of these stellar explosions known as supernovae, are indicated by the bright clumps in this map of the central regions of our Milky Way Galaxy. The map was made by a telescope onboard NASA's orbiting Compton Gamma Ray Observatory using detectors sensitive to gamma rays from the decay of radioactive aluminum.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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Publications with keywords: Milky Way
Publications with words: Milky Way
See also:

• The Milky Road
• A Milky Way Band
• Jupiter, Vesta, and the Milky Way
• The Milky Way Near the Southern Cross
• The Milky Way Over Paranal
• Our Galaxy in Stars, Gas, and Dust
• The Frothy Milky Way

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